Money and its impact on mental health

1
Money and its impact on mental health
2

• Up until recent years many employers have felt
  that their impact over their employees finances
  stretches only as far as paying them a salary.
  After that, its up to them to deal with their
  own financial concerns and wellbeing. 
•  
• Its a common misconception, but the truth is the
  exact opposite. We all have a duty of care for
  our staff, which includes their physical health 
  having a clean and safe environment to work in,
  and their mental health  ensuring theyre not
  overworked and have access to support when
  needed. However, where businesses often fall
  short is recognising the need to provide
  financial support to their employees. 
• Moneys role in mental health
• The link between mental health and money has been
  made very clear in recent years. We know
  that 9.5 million people in the UK have mental
  health problems caused by their money worries.
  There are also more than 18 million who worry
  about their money on a daily basis, and a third
  of these say that they lose sleep over it.
  Theres a cycle of anxiety and stress that people
  with financial issues get caught in Poor mental
  health increases money worries ltgt Money worries
  make mental health worse. 
• On top of the usual financial concerns, we have
  all been living through unprecedented times
  recently when it comes to our financial security.
  Theres a great deal of uncertainty and anxiety
  about whether things will get back to normal, and
  what will happen if they dont. Getting access to
  credit, mortgages, and other loans is also more
  difficult than ever, as banks have tightened
  their lending criteria, which has further
  complicated matters. 
•  

3

• People with debt problems are much more likely to
  have mental health issues  46 of them, to be
  precise. However, recognising the signs of poor
  mental health in your employees and understanding
  the root causes is not always easy to do. Your
  employees may be dealing with a variety of issues
  in their personal lives which could be impacting
  their finances and in turn causing their mental
  health to decline. Things like large debts,
  stretched commitments, lack of savings, rising
  childcare costs, anxieties about the property
  ladder, family changes, divorce, and partners
  losing their jobs. 
•  
• All of these are difficult issues to deal with,
  and will impact mental health, which in turn
  affects how well we cope at work and manage our
  responsibilities. Your employees may start to
  take more time off work if they are suffering in
  this way, and will be 7.6x less likely to finish
  daily tasks. It may even go the other way
  employees working late and at weekends and not
  getting enough rest in their free time because
  they fear losing their job. 
•  
• Early intervention is often the best way to
  alleviate and stop spiralling mental health
  decline, particularly when it comes to managing
  their finances.

4
A mental health strategy isnt enough

• Although you may feel that your current mental
  health strategy and company benefits cover all
  aspects of wellness, if you dont offer dedicated
  financial wellbeing support to your employees,
  youll be missing a key part of supporting good
  mental health. Financial support and in-work
  benefits will help your employees to increase
  their financial knowledge and receive practical
  guidance and tips on how to create a budget,
  manage investments and plan for their financial
  future. 
•  
• Good financial wellbeing strategies have been
  shown to have a positive impact on employees
  mental health, where theyre able to feel more in
  control of their money, resulting in a drop in
  money-related stress. 
•  
• The differences between mental health strategies
  and financial wellbeing strategies are easy to
  see when you separate them out

5
Mental health strategies often cover

• Emotional counselling and talking therapies
• Coping with workplace stress
• Support with conditions like anxiety and insomnia
• Relaxation techniques such as meditation and
  breathing exercises
• Exercise advice 
• Healthy living advice

6
Financial Wellbeing strategies help your
employees with

• Debt counselling
• Budgeting guidance and support
• Coaching to achieve long-term goals
• Financial education resources
• Support to increase wealth and security
• Guidance for protecting health and family

7
The impact on your company 

• Its certainly in the interest of your employees
  to promote financial wellbeing, but its also
  good for your business. Deloitte has estimated
  that
• one-sixth of UK workers are experiencing a
  mental health issue at any one time
• which costs UK businesses 42- 45 billion a year
  through lost days and reduced productivity. This
  is in part due to employees spending time
  thinking about their financial problems, and not
  being able to focus on their work. Its estimated
  employees with money worries lose up to five
  productive hours each week because they are
  worrying about money.
• For businesses that implement a financial
  wellbeing solution, the results can be dramatic.
  The most common reaction is to simply increase
  your employees salary to reduce money worries,
  but financial concerns affect everyone,
  regardless of their income bracket. 
• Instead, by providing your employees with the
  resources and support they need to learn and
  manage their money, absenteeism and presenteeism
  rates can fall. There will also be an uplift in
  employee retention as well as attracting better
  talent, while a marked increase in productivity
  from employees is often typical.
•  
• One way you can support your employees to
  increase their financial wellbeing is to create a
  safe confidential space where talking about money
  at work doesnt come with a lot of stigma.
  Providing 11 coaching can build trust between
  the employer and the employee, and they will feel
  supported in their efforts to improve their
  financial security.

8
How we can help

• Bippit is here to give your employees access to a
  confidential and comprehensive support. Our
  financial wellbeing platform is easy to use,
  innovative in its design, and packed with expert
  financial knowledge. Through our service your
  employees can receive a financial  healthcheck,
  get matched with a dedicated expert who they will
  be able to ask questions to at a time that suits
  them best, create and manage their budget, set
  trackable money goals, and learn more about
  pensions, investing, and saving in our unique
  content library.

9
Get in touch to find out more about Financial
Wellness

• Email us on info_at_bippit.com
• Book a call with us here
• Or visit our Website www.bippit.com